Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd has found its heroes. The first-ever Welsh-language version of Star Wars: A New Hope has revealed the actors voicing Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia, as the landmark dub takes shape for its Christmas Day premiere.
The casting was announced by S4C and its partners, with the production bringing together Disney, Lucasfilm, S4C and Creative Wales. The project was first announced earlier this year as part of the build-up to the Star Wars franchise's 50th anniversary in 2027, re-recording George Lucas' 1977 film entirely in Welsh.
Osian Morgan, known to Welsh audiences from S4C's long-running soap Pobol y Cwm, voices Luke Skywalker, the farm boy first played by Mark Hamill. Matthew Rhys takes on Harrison Ford's role as Han Solo, while Aimee-Ffion Edwards, best known as Shirley Dander in Slow Horses, voices Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia. All three leads arrive as established screen actors rather than voice-over specialists, a casting approach that underlines how the production is treating the Welsh version as a full production in its own right.
The supporting cast reaches just as deep into Welsh acting talent. Rhys Ifans voices Obi-Wan Kenobi, stepping into the role Alec Guinness originated, while Mark Lewis Jones — who played First Order Captain Canady on screen in Star Wars: The Last Jedi — returns to the franchise as the voice of Darth Vader. Llyr Ifans voices C-3PO, Nia Roberts plays Aunt Beru, and Richard Harrington rounds out the revealed cast as Grand Moff Tarkin.
The dub also carries a weight beyond novelty casting. Gobaith Newydd is the first time a Star Wars film has been produced in Welsh at all, giving the language a flagship title in one of the biggest entertainment franchises on the planet — and giving Welsh-speaking audiences the original trilogy's opening chapter in their own language for the first time, nearly five decades after its release.
The Welsh premiere is one piece of a much larger anniversary program Lucasfilm is building around A New Hope. A newly restored version of the 1977 film returns to theaters in February, live orchestra performances of the classic are planned across the UK, and the Star Wars: The Experience exhibition opens at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute on February 13 ahead of a five-year North American tour.
A short teaser has already given fans their first taste of the translation, opening with the film's famous text crawl rendered in Welsh. Watch the Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd teaser here:
Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd premieres on S4C and its streaming platforms on Christmas Day.
Source: S4C via Inside the Magic
